Spend your time with locals (e.g., make friendships, attend classes, volunteer and participate in activities).

Do everything in Spanish (e.g., change the language on your cell phones and computers to Spanish).

Increase your understanding of the words and phrases that Colombians use, including the jargon. After all, you're in Colombia, not Spain, and each country is unique.

Learn what is necessary about Castellano (e.g., in general, one pronounces the double “l” (“ll”) and the “y” in Castellano in the same way that one pronounces the “j” in English; and, “vos” can be a substitute for “tú”).

"goodbye"; typically used in Colombia as a substitute for "adios", which is seldomly used

1

charro (m); charra (f)

"funny"; referring to a person

3

chévere

"great"

2

chiva

bus (e.g., in Colombia, "chiva" typically refers to a bus that is used for a mobile party); chiva has additional meanings, such as female goat

3

chucu-chucu

all music of the tropical genre that can be danced to

3

¿Como sigues?

"How are you in relation to your health problem/ailment?"; typically, if you are sick or have a health issue/an ailment and your Colombian friends or family know this, they are more likely to ask you "¿Como sigues?" until you are recovered/return to your normal state of health; after you are recovered/return to your normal state of health, it is likely they will stop asking you "¿Como sigues?" and resume asking you the Colombian equivalents of "How are you?" (e.g., "¿Bien o no?", "¿Bien o qué?", "¿Qué más?")

2

con gusto

"you’re welcome"; literally, "with pleasure"

1

con quién

with whom (e.g., "¿Con quién hablo?" can be the equivalent of "With whom am I speaking?" or "Who's calling?"; "¿Con quién vas a ir?" means "With whom are you going to go?")

2

conseguir

"to get"; "to obtain"

3

contaminación

"pollution"

3

crispetas

"popcorn"; often served complimentarily with drinks at a restaurant or bar; complimentary mango slices are also common

2

crossover

mixture of different musical genres typical of discotecas

3

cuenta con eso

"count on it"

3

de una

"let's do it"

3

descargar

"download"

2

Dime

Frequently, this is an informal response; for example, if someone says, "Tengo una pregunta." ("I have a question"), one is able to respond, "Dime" (in other words, "Tell me" or "What is your question?")

in the bad; out of money; full of problems (e.g., in Colombia, "estoy en la chanda", "estoy en la mala", "estoy en la olla" or "estoy tirado" can be the equivalent of, "I'm not well off", "things aren't good for me", "I'm full of problems" or "I'm out of money"; if someone in Colombia says "estoy tirado" or "estoy en la olla", this may more frequently mean "I'm out of money"; "estoy sin plata" can mean "I'm out of money" or "I don't have any money with me")

3

entregar

"to deliver"

2

Estoy amañado en …

"I am happy in …"

2

gaseosa

"soft drink"

3

gracias a Dios

"thanks to God"

1

¡Hágale pues!

Do it!

3

hasta luego

see you later; literally, "until later"; this phrase can be used to say goodbye to someone and very often is used as a formal, polite way of saying goodbye to anyone, including strangers, when departing an elevator

2

igual tú; igualmente

likewise (e.g., if you say to someone in Spanish, "qué disfrutes el fin de semana", which is the equivalent of "I hope you enjoy the weekend", the person may respond to you, "igual tú" o "igualmente", which is the equivalent of "likewise" or "I hope you enjoy the weekend, too")

3

incumplido (m), incumplida (f)

unreliable; way to describe someone who doesn't do what he/she says he/she will do

3

jajaja

"hahaha"; pronunciation is the same in Spanish and English; in Spanish, one pronounces the letter "j" in the same way as one pronounces the letter "h" in English

1

jejeje

"hehehe"; pronunciation is the same in Spanish and English; in Spanish, one pronounces the letter "j" in the same way as one pronounces the letter "h" in English

1

listo

"OK"

1

loliar

to look; to browse (e.g., if you ask someone to look at a website, after doing it, he/she may say to you, "Ya me lolié en el sitio de Web", which is the equivalent of saying "I already took a look at the website"; if you're browsing in a store and aren't interested in buying something and an employee at the store asks you if you would like assistance, one way to respond is "No, gracias, estoy loliando", which is the equivalent of saying, "No, thank you, I'm browsing")

bracelets; typically refers to the type of paper, discardable bracelet you may receive at a bar, club or special event that gives you permission to enter and/or other privileges (e.g,. VIP access)

3

mera

tremendous (e.g., in Colombia, "estoy en la mera chanda" can be the equivalent of "things are tremendously bad for me" or "I'm completely out of money" or similar)

3

¿Me regalas un minuto?

"Will you lend me your cellphone so I can make a call?"; literally, "Will you gift me a minute?"

2

Me traes cositas

"Bring me little things"; you may hear this often if you tell your Colombian friends you’re taking a trip outside the city or country

3

ni idea

"I don't have any idea"; "ni idea" is an abbreviated way of saying "no tengo ninguna idea"

3

notaria

"notary"

3

¡Oe!

an informal response, such as "Sí, Señor (or Señora)", "Dime" or "¿Qué necesitas?"

3

o sea

"in other words"; typically appears at the start of a sentence

2

paila; grave

serious; in a serious situation; not good (e.g., in Colombia, if a professional dancer has an injured leg, he or she may say something like "estoy paila por la pierna" or "estoy grave por la pierna", which is the equivalent of "things aren't good for me because of my leg")

3

paisa

native of Antioquia, Caldas and Risaralda

2

parcero

"partner"; "pal"

1

pico y placa

government-enforced schedule that indicates when Colombians are permitted to use their vehicles; certain forms of transportation do not have pico y placa requirements (e.g., motorcycles do not have pico y placa requirements, and motorcycles are seemingly more common in Colombia as a result of this reason and other reasons (e.g,. lower cost of ownership, ability to drive motorcycles between lanes to pass vehicles/save time)

2

platudo (m), platuda (f);

well-heeled; in the money (e.g., in Colombia, "estás platudo" can be the equivalent of "you have a lot of money"; if you pay for a cup of a coffee with a bill of a high demonination and the employee says to you, "estás platudo", this is a way of saying, "wow, you have a lot of money" or similar)

3

polvo

"dust"

3

portátil

laptop

3

pues

"well"; typically appears at the start or end of a sentence

1

Que estés bien

"Wishing you well"; literally, "That you’re good" or "That you’re well"; you’ll often hear this after placing an order

2

¿Qué más?; ¿Qué hubo pues?

"How are you?"; "What’s up?"

1

¿Qué opinas?

"What do you think?"; "What is your opinion?"

3

Qué pena; Hay, qué pena; Qué pena contigo

This is often said to express that one is aware of an inconvenience to you; for example, if you buy something at a café and the employee forgets to give you your change, the employee may say, "Qué pena", which is the equivalent of saying "Disculpa" or "Discúlpeme" ["Excuse me (for causing you this inconvenience)" or "Lo siento". Mi error le ha impuesto a Usted una inconveniencia." ("I'm sorry. My error has imposed an inconvenience on you.")

2

redactar un correo

"compose an email"

2

rico

"tasty" or "delicious"

1

rolo; cachaco; bogotano

native of Bogota

2

Semana Santa

holy week in Colombia that falls on same week as Easter Sunday

3

sencillo

"simple"; also often used to refer to small denominations of money in singular "sencillo" and plural "sencillos"

2

sombrilla

"umbrella"

3

taco

"traffic"

3

te dejo

"I’m going to leave you now"; used to politely end a conversation and often followed by the reason

3

te quiero

"you're important to me"; can be said to a family member or a friend in a way that does not imply intimacy; can also be said to a significant other in a way that does imply intimacy

3

te ves (tú); se ve (Usted)

you look (e.g., "te ves muy bien" is the equivalent of "you look very good"; "te ves" is derived from the Spanish reflexive verb "verse", which means "to be seen"

3

torre

"tower"; often used to refer to a tall building, such as an apartment or office building

Following are some examples of common and helpful abbreviations of Colombian vocabulary so you are able to enjoy your Colombian experience:

Enter word or phrase in the following field to filter the table information

Abbreviations (jargon)

Abbreviation (Spanish)

Meaning (Spanish)

Meaning (English)

apto

apartamento

apartament

bn

bien

good

maso

más o menos

more or less

q

que

that

ola

hola

hello

pa

para

for; intended for

parce, parche

parcero

partner; friend

porfa

por favor

please

ps

pues

well

tonc

entonces

then

ombe

hombre

man

guaro

aguardiente

aguardiente; alcohol commonly consumed by groups of Colombians

fb

Facebook

Facebook

msn

Microsoft Messenger/Microsoft Live, correo electrónico de Hotmail

Microsoft Messenger/Microsoft Live, Hotmail email account

Sr.

señor

Mr.

Sra.

señora

Mrs., Ms.; in certain Spanish-speaking countries (e.g., Spain), "Sra." o "señora" more often signifies that the female you are addressing is married; in other Spanish-speaking countries (e.g., Colombia), "Sra." o "señora" more often signifies that you are addressing a female adult respectfully and would typically apply if the female adult you are addressing is mature in age (e.g., 20 years or older) and/or behavior

Srta.

señorita

Miss, Ms.; "Srta." o "señorita" more often signifies that the female you are addressing is not married and/or not mature in age and/or behavior

integrated fare [e.g., in Medellín, Colombia, you can purchase an "integrado", which is an integrated fair to a given destination; if you purchase an "integrado a Caldas" (literally, "an integrated to Caldas" at the "taquilla" ("ticket booth"), you will two tickets for travel, which include one Metro ticket and one bus transfer ticket (the bus transfer ticket is necessary because the Metro does not yet extend to Caldas)]

integrado

land (e.g., "Voy a ir a San Jerónimo por vía terrestre" means "I'm going to go to San Jerónimo by land"

terrestre

license plate

placa

long weekend (e.g., "Este puente me iré de paseo" means "This long weekend I will go away on a trip")

puente

luggage/baggage

equipaje; maletas

luggage pieces (referring to the number of luggage pieces per passenger)

número piezas

luggage weight

peso equipaje

metro; typically refers to local, rapid, public train transportation

metro

passenger

pasajero (masculino); pasajera (femenina)

passport

pasaporte

please fasten your seatbelts

por favor, abrochense los cinturones

point of sale

punto de venta

public service

servicio público

pull; lever (e.g., the pull or lever that opens a door or stops a train in the event of an emergency

palanca

rates

tarifas

ring the bell, do not shout, the driver's cabin is closed

timbre no grite, cabina cerrada

ring the bell with anticipation prior to your stop; in other words, don't wait until the last moment to ring the bell prior to your stop

timbre con anticipación

room time (referring to the time that passengers are required to be in the waiting room/at the departure gate in advance of a flight

hora sala

seat; typically refers to the place on a ticket (e.g., an airline, train, or show/concert/performance ticket) where your seat assignment/seat number is provided; another meaning of "puesto" is "place" (e.g., "primer puesto" refers to first place in a contest)

puesto

seatbelt

cinturón de seguridad

smoking is prohibited

prohibido fumar

ticket

tiquete; boleta

ticket office (e.g., the ticket window at the public train in Medellín, Colombia, referred to as the "Metro", is called the "taquilla"); another meaning of "taquilla" is "box office" (e.g., box office at the movie theater)

taquilla

time of departure

hora salida

to (referring to place of arrival, such as city)

destino

travel guide; tour guide

guía del recorrido

tray table

bandeja extensible; bandeja plegable; bandeja de entrada

trip; outing; tour; excursion (e.g., "Estoy de paseo" can be the equivalent of "I'm on vacation" or "I'm just visiting"; "Voy a irme de paseo" is the equivalent of "I'm going to go away on a trip")

Here are some examples of common grammatical errors made by foreigners that Amañado has noted:

Don't use “una” before “otra” or “un” before “otro”. For example, one should say “otra vez”, not “una otra vez”.

Use “más de” when one speaks about quantity and “más que” when one is comparing 2 or more things. For example, one should say “más de 2 millones”, not “más que 2 millones” and one should say “ella trabaja más duro que él”, not “ella trabaja más duro de él”.

Pay attention to the gender of a noun to give the adjective that accompanies it the correct ending. For example, one says “buena universidad”, not “buen universidad”, because the noun “universidad” is a feminine noun and one says “buen clima”, not “buena clima” because “clima” is a masculine noun.